In crops, root-knot nematodes are plant-parasitic nematode that damage a wide range of crops. Conversely, entomopathogenic nematodes are utilized as a biocontrol of soil insect pests. With respect to entomopathogenic nematodes, there has been an effort to isolate metabolites and to utilize isolated compounds as biopest control. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,838 discloses a protein toxin isolated from Xenorhabdus strains as an insecticide.
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, population density is monitored via specific glycosides of the dideoxysugar ascarylose that promote entry into an alternate larval stage, the non-feeding and highly persistent dauer stage. While various ascarosides are known to induce dauer formation in Caenorhabditis elegans, (Butcher et al., 2007. Nature Chemical Biology, Vol. 3, Number 7:420:422) it remains to be determined whether there are other signal molecules beyond dauer formation. Specifically, a sex pheromone directed at male nematode attraction would be utilized to trap and reduce populations of plant-parasitic or animal-parasitic nematodes. Conversely, identification of a signaling pheromone would useful in attracting entomopathogenic nematodes to protect plants against insect pests. As such, there is need to determine whether a signaling attractant exists for nematodes.